For some crying is the best way to deal with pain, others seclusion but for Rwandans in Ottawa crying is no longer an option. “We only met in April crying and that was all but this made us weaker and did not get us anywhere. This is why we started the Day of Hope, we realized there was so much more to life, there was hope and we had a future” said Jean Claude Ngabonziza a Rwandan now residing in Ottawa and North American correspondent for the French Newspaper Goliath. The initiative was started, to make, the survivors of the genocide residing here in Ottawa/Gatineau, understand that the life goes on despite what they have gone through in the past. It emphasizes the need to celebrate life while envisioning a bright future. It usually takes place in October or November and a variety of artists, mostly of Rwandan origin are invited to perform. Ngabonziza who is also a genocide survivor and coordinator of Humura Association was the brains behind this initiative and says he conceived this idea in 2005 after the month long commemoration of the Rwandan genocide and the said the best way to fight back was to show that Rwandans continue to live on and we have not given up on life. “The killers expected us to cry for life but when we celebrate it is a way to show them that they failed to steal the life from us the one that they took away from our brothers and sisters” Ngabonziza explained. The Day that was first celebrated in November 2005 at the Bronson center in Canada was an instant success and saw up to 800 people from different communities attending. “We were so excited because so many people came to celebrate with us and the guest of honor was Paul Dewar MP for Ottawa Centre who later went on to praise the Rwandan community in Ottawa for being so organized encouraging other African communities to borrow a leaf from us. He also spoke positively about Rwanda in parliament. Ngabonziza also hopes that this initiative will be adopted by Rwanda as a country and he has made a move to sell the idea to the government. “I went to see Jean de Dieu Mucyo, president of the National Commission to prevent Genocide and told him about this initiative and seemed really interested. I hope he will suggest it to the government so that we can celebrate as one” Ngabonziza explained. Jean- Paul Rudahusha another Rwandan in Ottawa thinks it was a great idea to start this. “I believe we can not forget about the past and we should always remember what happened but we should not ignore the fact that we have a future and we should look towards that” Rudahusha said. This event also involves fundraising and the proceeds go to helping victims of the genocide especially widows and orphans back home in Rwanda. Rudahusha believes that some of the proceeds should go towards building the country’s economy through business. Ends
